Missing schooner – update 12

The
Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) is continuing
to assess all available information in the search for the
crew of the American schooner Nina, which is missing en
route from New Zealand to Australia. Today’s radar search
of more than 97,000 square nautical miles has been completed
without any sighting of the vessel.

The 21m (70ft) Nina,
sailing from Opua in the Bay of Islands to Newcastle with
seven people on board, has not been heard from since 4
June.

On 15 June, RCCNZ obtained from Iridium, a satellite
communications company, details of the approximate position
and actual time (1150 NZST 04 June 2013) of the last
transmission from the Nina’s satellite phone.

Nigel
Clifford, Maritime New Zealand’s General Manager Safety
and Response Services, said the position information was
then factored into search area calculations, along with
other available information.

“As concern for the vessel
increased, RCCNZ made further enquiries with Iridium about
all transmissions made from the Nina’s satellite phone
during the period of interest,” said Mr Clifford.

On 29
June it became known that the last transmission (a text
message), on 4 June, had not been delivered to its intended
recipient by the Iridium system. RCCNZ, working with the
United States State Department, sought the release of the
undelivered text message contents, which RCCNZ received on 3
July.

Mr Clifford said the contents of
the text message were considered, along with all other
information, as part of the planning for today’s search.
“The text message gives a clearer indication of the
condition of the vessel on 4 June, and the weather that was
being experienced at the time,” he said.

“The text
message clearly indicates that the Nina was affected by the
storm, but gives no indication of immediate
distress.

“While it shows that Nina had survived the
storm up to that point, very poor weather continued in the
area for many hours and has been followed by other storms.
The text message, in isolation, does not indicate what might
have happened subsequently.

“However, the text message
states that Nina’s course information would be updated in
just over six hours’ time, at 6pm.

“There have been
no further transmissions or messages from the Nina since the
undelivered text message on 4 June. There were also no
distress messages from either of the two distress alerting
devices on board (EPIRB and Spot satellite personal
tracker),” Mr Clifford said.

RCCNZ has discussed the
details of the text message and other search information
gathered to date with representatives of the family and
friends of the crew.

Search and rescue officers at RCCNZ
will evaluate all the information and decisions about the
search operation will be considered overnight and
tomorrow.

New Zealand’s Maritime Radio is continuing to
conduct broadcasts in New Zealand’s search and rescue
region, and Rescue Coordination Centre Australia (RCC
Australia) is assisting with broadcasts on coastal
radio.

Background

There are seven people on board the
schooner Nina, six Americans (three men aged 17, 28 and 58,
and three women aged 18, 60 and 73) and a British man aged
35.

To date, the RCCNZ has coordinated eight searches,
with an RNZAF P3K2 Orion aircraft completing extensive radar
and observation searches of the Tasman Sea. Two other aerial
shoreline searches have also been conducted (on 28 and 29
June) but no sign has been found of the vessel or its
crew.

The schooner Nina, built in 1928, left Opua on 29
May and was last heard from on 4 June, when the vessel was
about 370 nautical miles west-north-west of Cape Reinga.
Records show that conditions at the vessel’s last known
position were very rough, with winds of 80kmh gusting to
110kmh and swells of up to 8m.

The vessel is equipped with
a satellite phone, a Spot satellite personal tracking device
which allows regular tracking signals to be sent manually,
and an emergency beacon. The emergency beacon has not been
activated.

After concerns were raised by family and
friends, the RCCNZ instigated a communications search on 14
June, using a range of communications methods to broadcast
alerts to the vessel and others in the area. RCCNZ
determined that the vessel should have arrived at its
intended destination by 25 June, and aerial searches were
instigated when it had not arrived by that date.

Search
summary

4 JulyAn RNZAF P3 Orion departed at 9am and
searched an area of 97,000 square nautical miles extending
as far west as the Middleton and Elizabeth reefs in the
Tasman Sea.

2 JulyAn aerial search south of Norfolk
Island, covering approximately 2,100 square nautical miles.
The P3 Orion was airborne at 6am and searched until 4.30pm
before returning to New Zealand.

1 July
An aerial search of approximately 3,780 square nautical
miles north of North Cape. The P3 Orion arrived on scene at
about 9.30am and continued searching until 6pm. Conditions
in the search area were good, with excellent
visibility.

30 JuneAn extensive aerial search of 4,830
square nautical miles north-east of Northland. The P3 Orion
arrived at the search area at around 8am and conducted an
aerial and radar search until approximately 4pm.

29
JuneAn extended shoreline search for the crew was
undertaken for a second day without success. RCCNZ tasked a
helicopter to perform a coastal search from Port Waikato to
New Plymouth. The Tauranga-based Phillips Search and Rescue
helicopter was on scene at around 11.45am.

28 JuneA
twin-engine fixed-wing aircraft was tasked to search the
shoreline and coast, starting at Tauroa Point at 10.45am,
along Ninety Mile Beach, north of Northland and out to and
around Three Kings Islands. The search finished at 5pm.

26
JuneA search was completed of 324,000 square nautical
miles between northern New Zealand and the Australian coast,
based on the vessel suffering damage but continuing to make
progress towards Australia.

25 JuneA search area of
140,000 square nautical miles was covered, to the immediate
north-north-east of New Zealand, based on the vessel being
disabled and
drifting.

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